Essay | Gatsby and Macbeth Parallels

In both Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare's Macbeth the lives of the main characters involve a constant struggle with their dreams. Gatsby tries to win back the girl of his dreams, Daisy, by becoming something he's not, a member of high society, while Macbeth believes the prediction of the witches and spends his life trying to make it come true. These struggles lead ultimately to their premature demises. Both characters are ambitious and willing to commit crime in order to accomplish their dreams. Both characters are motivated to take these risks by a woman. Although both are ambitious, Gatsby is more admirable because he doesn't deliberately embrace evil as Macbeth does.

Both Macbeth and Gatsby are ambitious and are willing to risk everything for a dream, even if it means committing a crime. Macbeth is at first a loyal general of Duncan's army. However, at his first encounter at...
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